Man Cave Bath Renovation--Jan 2010

The "before"--notice linoleum floor.

The cheap linoleum flooring has been removed & walls painted.

Commode is removed-note wall paper.

Getting ready to clean drain flange and start tiling.

Tiling down and just finished grout--notice excess and haze.

The finished product--all looks and works well!

On January 18th, 2010, I completed the full renovation of the powder room bath off the kitchen. I decided I would take some time off before starting my next "self imposed" project.

So it was, on January 21st (3 days later), I took photos of the "before" man cave bathroom and we headed to Lowes in Madison to choose a pint of paint as a test sample. Came home and tried the green sample--I did not like--too light. Back to Lowes and decided on a slightly darker green called Lyndhurst Spring Eve. Part of the reason we went green is this color--in a different shade--is found in the shower curtain, bath towels, and other amenities. Our plan was to change the yellow wall color to a green and keep everything else as is! Also, my plans are to change the venting fan to a quieter design and upgrade the towel rack, toilet paper holder, and hand towel to a new chrome.

I applied the first coat of green to the walls on January 22nd and the second and final coat the next day on the 23rd. On January 24th, I carefully removed all the shoe molding--this is smaller than quarter round--along with the linoleum floor that had buckled behind the commode. While the linoleum had originally been glued down, it came up fairly easily--exposing the bare concrete floor below. The next day I removed the commode and painted the wall behind it. The original walls were wall papered with an Arnold Palmer golf theme--was it ever ugly. The afternoon of the 25th found me beginning the tiling process. I completed the floor tiling at 1:00 on Tuesday 26th--allowing it to dry and somewhat cure for the next 36-48 hours.

The tiles are my first in the size of 13 x 13--most I have put down have been 12 x 12. I decided to use the same stagger design as the bath upstairs. We brought two boxes plus 4 individual tiles--upon completion, there were a couple partial pieces left--good measuring and estimating on my part! BTW--the tile has a green tone with a little light reddish tint--should be perfect to blend and compliment the walls and grout!

On Thursday, January 28th, I mixed the 25 pound bag of dry grout in a dry bucket. After thoroughly mixing, I returned about half to the original plastic bag. The remaining I mixed with water to obtain the desired consistency. I began with applying the grout in all the groves and letting sit for 30 minutes. For the next hour or so, using a clean sponge and water, I began to clean the extra grout from all tiles--it took about 6 times to get the tiles clean and sparkle free. Finished around noon and will now allow to thoroughly cure for next 36 hours.

Friday the 29th was officially "Completion" day. I started with cutting to lenght and installing all the quarter round molding that had two coats of white trim paint. Afterwards, I applied caulking and then painted finishing nail holes. Then came the real challenge--reinstalling the commode. It took Carol and I two attempts but finally success--yea! After making certain the unit was properly bolted to drain flange, Tutz and I put up the shower curtains and wall hangings. Job complete and it looks great!